1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for the use of active non-intrusive inspection technology for the verification of cargo and/or goods.
2. Background Information
Manufactured goods, raw materials, equipment, provisions, supplies, and a variety of other items are routinely shipped throughout the world by land, air, sea, and even space. Often such items are shipped in sealed containers, such as cargo containers. The need for effective means of identifying and/or verifying the contents of such containers is of importance to any concern, whether government or private commerce, that transports or handles them. For example:                Customs and law enforcement may wish to detect and interdict contraband, drugs, and terror threats such as explosives or nuclear material.        Recipients of merchandise may wish to verify that the correct goods are being delivered.        Shippers may wish to ensure goods are transported and stored safely and correctly.        Producers and buyers may wish to make certain that received goods are what they are supposed to be and not counterfeit.        
Other instances in which identification and verification of goods may be paramount will be readily recognized by those skilled in the art. Yet such identification and verification may present difficulties that are cost-prohibitive or impractical due to various factors, such as:                Verification of contents by manual inspection may be cost-prohibitive and introduce impracticable delays in the shipment of goods.        Verification by destructive techniques that require unpacking or destruction of the container may not be practicable.        Containers may be tamper-proof or otherwise difficult or cumbersome to open.        The goods for which verification is desired may be buried deep within a container or are otherwise difficult to reach.        The environment may be dangerous or otherwise unsuitable for human inspection.        
In the above scenarios, as well as others that will be recognized by those skilled in the art, non-destructive and non-intrusive means of identification and/or verification of the contents of a container may be desirable.
In any flow of goods, there is generally a supply chain that may include an origin (e.g., a producer, manufacturer, shipper, or the like); a transit route (which may include packing, shipping, forwarding, temporary storage, receiving, etc.); and an end point marked by the acceptance of delivery by a recipient, such as a customs inspection site, a purchaser, or an end-user. Non-intrusive means for identification of goods may be useful at multiple points along this supply chain. Currently, for reasons such as those listed above, there may be no practicable way to ascertain the origin, quality, and other characteristics of goods at multiple points in a supply chain. Further, in many cases visual inspections or other current methods of analysis may not be able to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit goods.